Before building out your upcoming dental marketing budget, it makes sense to ask, "Do we need to invest in SEO?” In today’s smartphone world, where every patient is searching for a dentist amongst Google search results under poorly spelled versions of “dentist near me” - SEO is something you need to be doing as a dentist. 

But how much money should it cost you every year? 🤔 (The *sometimes* literal million-dollar question.) In this article, we’ll help answer that question and discuss the factors determining the cost of an average SEO budget for a dental practice.

What Is SEO and Why Is It Important?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) improves your website's visibility on unpaid search engine results pages (SERPs). For dental marketing, SEO is important because:

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• With billions turning to Google searches to help find health information and local services, it’s crucial your dental practice appears in local search results. 

• Appearing at the top of search results is a bit of a flex 🤩. It shows people that your practice is reputable and trusted by others.

• SEO can help you stand out from the competition. In competitive markets, organic visibility online is worth investing in to attract more patients.

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What Affects The Cost of SEO For a Dental Practice?

When determining how much to invest in SEO to promote your dental practice, some important aspects to consider include:

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• The Size and Complexity of Your Website

Fewer pages mean less work (and less $$$) compared to a more significant site with more pages to organize and structure for SEO web crawlers.

• Your Local Competition

If you live in an area with fewer dentists to compete with, you will have to spend less to optimize your local SEO. If you live in a popular area - that's a different story that requires more investment to top the competition. (More on this later 👇)

• The Services You Need

Depending on how complex you want to make your SEO strategy, you can invest in various services that are meant to help your website rank higher, such as:

• Creating SEO-optimized blog articles
• Acquiring authoritative related backlinks
• Optimizing your website structure
• And much more

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• Determining Your Goals

As with any marketing strategy, your objectives are important when determining the cost. Your investment might be relatively minimal if you aim for modest improvements in local search rankings but that may not be the case if you want the top spot. 

However, your budget should reflect these ambitions if you want to dominate search results across multiple services, locations, or even nationally.

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What Is The Cost Of SEO For A Dental Practice?

While the SEO budget for your dental practice can vary depending on various factors, in our experience, we have found that successful SEO clients spend approximately $500 - $2000* per month on search-engine related services.

Side Note*: This budget will work for a large majority of practices to help gain significant local online visibility. However, if you’re located in a large metropolitan area such as NYC, San Francisco, or Chicago, you’re going to be spending much more to compete.

While cheaper options can certainly be found, it’s important to remember that you get what you pay for with SEO. Cutting costs and going with a cheaper SEO agency may result in “grey-hat” or “black-hat” tactics being used to optimize your website, causing it to receive a temporary or even permanent strike from Google and the SERPs. 🙅‍♂️ 

Plus, a recent survey by SearchEngineJournal found that small businesses spending more than $500/month on SEO are 53.3% more likely to be “extremely satisfied” with their marketing investments. 

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What Contributes To A Dental SEO Budget?

SEO is sometimes seen as mysterious magic - but we want to help pull back the curtain and break it down into primary elements that make up your strategy.

Website Optimization and Design

Your website serves as the digital front door to your dental practice. Ensuring it's both user-friendly and search engine-friendly is paramount. Optimization involves:

• Responsive design that looks and functions well on all mobile devices.
• Fast loading times to reduce bounce rates.
• Clear calls to action to guide visitors towards booking appointments.
• Secure and accessible website, ensuring it's HTTPS and easily crawlable for search engines.

Content Creation and Blogging

Content is king in the world of SEO. Regularly updated, high-quality content can position your dental practice as an authority in the field. This includes:

• SEO-optimized blog articles on topics relevant to your patients.
• Informative, local keyword-optimized pages detailing your services.
• Multimedia content like videos or infographics that can be shared on social media or other platforms.

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Local SEO and Directory Listings

Local visibility is crucial for dental practices (as we talked about earlier). This component focuses on:

• Ensuring your practice is listed on Google My Business with accurate and updated information.
• Consistent listings on local directories and review sites like Yelp, Facebook, ZocDoc, and more.
• Encouraging, managing, and responding to patient reviews to boost your online reputation.

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Backlinking Strategies

Backlinks, or links from other websites to yours, act as votes of confidence in the eyes of search engines. A robust backlinking strategy involves:

• Earning links from reputable websites in the dental and health sectors.
• Avoiding low-quality or spammy links that can harm your SEO.
• Regularly auditing your backlink profile to ensure its health and effectiveness.

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Misconceptions About SEO For Dental Practices

After all this talk on the importance of putting valuable marketing dollars towards optimizing your website and its content for search engines, it's also important to address some of the common rumors you've probably heard about SEO.

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"SEO is a one-time task/cost."

SEO is an ongoing process. Search engine algorithms change frequently, and so do user behaviors. Regularly updating and optimizing your website is crucial to maintain or improve your rankings.

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"More keywords mean better SEO."

Keyword stuffing, or cramming as many keywords as possible into your content, can actually harm your SEO. Creating content that's valuable to your readers and uses keywords naturally is essential.

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"All backlinks are good backlinks."

As mentioned earlier, the quality of your backlinks matters more than quantity. Links from irrelevant or spammy websites can harm your site's reputation and rankings.

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"I don’t need SEO; I use paid ads."

While pay-per-click (PPC) ads can drive traffic to your site, users often deem organic search results more trustworthy. A balanced strategy that includes both SEO and PPC is often the most effective.

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"My website looks great, so I'm set with SEO."

A visually appealing website is undoubtedly vital for user experience, but a lot goes on behind the scenes regarding SEO. Site structure, load times, mobile optimization, and meta tags are just a few factors that can impact your rankings.

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"I can do all my SEO in-house without an agency."

While basic SEO tasks can be handled in-house, working with experts who stay up-to-date with the latest SEO trends and best practices is very valuable. They can provide insights and strategies that might take time to be noticeable.

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Conclusion: The True Value of Dental SEO

As with all investments, weighing the costs against the potential returns is essential. In the case of SEO for a dental practice, the returns can be substantial: increased visibility, more patients, and a robust online reputation. Whether you're spending $500, $2000, or even more a month, the key is to ensure you receive quality, white-hat SEO services that benefit your online presence in the long term. 

As patients increasingly turn to search engines for their next dental appointment, ensuring your practice stands out online is a top priority. So, when planning your next marketing budget, consider the true value of SEO. It's not just a cost; it's an investment in your practice's growth and success. 

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Have More SEO Questions? The Studio 8E8 Team Is Here.

As dentistry’s story-driven marketing agency, we not only design, create, and build beautiful custom-made websites. We also provide all of our clients with their own dedicated and experienced SEO strategists to answer any questions they may have regarding budget or anything else search engine optimization. We want to ensure all your questions are answered too - leave us a message.